Early voting to end today

Today is the last day to cast your vote early, and turnout records have already been shattered as Election Day nears.

More votes were cast in Nevada in the first 11 days of voting than in the entire 14-day early voting period during the last presidential election four years ago. The same was true in Clark County.

By the end of voting Wednesday, the 12th day, 37 percent of voters statewide had done their civic duty, a total of 443,085 ballots in all 17 counties.

Officials said the number was over half a million by Thursday afternoon.

Four years ago, in what was then the biggest election in Nevada history, 347,000 people cast early ballots and 397,000 voted on Election Day.

Historically, the last two days of early voting see the highest turnout of the two-week period. In fact, with early voting capacity limited by logistical factors, officials said today might see bigger crowds and longer waits than Election Day, though they aren't expecting severe traffic jams in either case.

Adding to the potential crowds, many workers have today off for the state holiday. "Expect lines if you vote on Friday," Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said.

By "lines," he doesn't mean the multihour waits that some other states with early voting have reported. As one of the first and most aggressive states to jump on the early voting bandwagon, Nevada is fairly well practiced at it.

"I doubt anyone will wait more than an hour," Lomax said.

"Some sites you can still walk in and walk out (without waiting). At others, lines are about half an hour long. They usually look scarier than they are. They move pretty quickly."

Grocery stores tend to be the most crowded of the early voting sites, while the Regional Transportation Commission building at the Clark County Government Center downtown tends to see the least traffic.

For the hours and locations of early voting today, check the sample ballot registered voters should have received in the mail or go online to the Clark County Election Department, www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/election.

The turnout numbers by party have favored Democrats since early voting began on Oct. 18, and that continues to be the case.

Through Wednesday, of 309,000 Clark County voters, 164,000 were registered Democrats, or 53 percent; 93,000 were registered Republicans, or 30 percent; the other 17 percent were nonpartisans or members of minor political parties.

Of the 38,000 absentee ballots received in Clark County through Wednesday, 18,000 belonged to Republicans, 15,000 to Democrats. Combining early and absentee ballots, Democrats were 52 percent of voters through Wednesday, Republicans 32 percent.

In Washoe County, of 78,000 voters through Wednesday, 38,000, or 49 percent, were Democrats, while 27,000, or 34 percent, were Republicans. These breakdowns reflect only which party's members are voting, not which candidate is winning the election. No election results are released until after the polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4.

Partisan turnout breakdowns are not available for the state's 15 rural counties, which make up less than 15 percent of statewide voters.

Democrats hope the numbers are a sign of high enthusiasm for presidential nominee Barack Obama, who hopes to put the state's five electoral votes in the Democrats' column for the first time since 1996.

The latest statewide poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN and Time and released Thursday, found Obama in the lead by 7 percentage points over Republican John McCain, 52 percent to 45 percent.

The poll of 684 likely Nevada voters carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Other recent polling in the state has also shown Obama leading, but by widely varying margins.

Democrats say they have received reports of Hispanic voters being called by Spanish speakers who tell them they can vote over the phone and skip going to the polls, which is not true. On Thursday, representatives of both political parties joined Hispanic leaders to denounce the practice, which began two weeks ago in Washoe County but which they say has now cropped up in Las Vegas.

"This is unfair, it's cheating, and it's so important that we get the message out," U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said at a news conference Thursday.

Those behind the alleged calls are "deceitful, mean-spirited, unpatriotic people," he said.

An official with the Nevada secretary of state's office said the allegations of ethnically targeted voter suppression are being investigated.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.